Open Window
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day forty-two: Emma tries to find a way to show Will he can't leave Pilot .


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle. Now entering the seventh through ninth weeks, here comes cycle 3 of my gleekathon! That starts tomorrow. Today is the last day of cycle 2 :D_

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**"Open Window"  
Emma, Will/Emma**

Sitting on her own, staring longingly at Will's picture in the McKinley yearbook, tracing a heart around his face with all her foolish, girlish, hopeless romantic…

He couldn't leave… He just couldn't. Days were simply too normal without him… nothing new, nothing exciting. She knew the reality, knew he was married, and now… expecting a baby. Maybe she didn't stand a fire truck's chance in hell, but it was always better that he'd be there.

She shut the yearbook, resting her hands on the table as she got on her feet. She had to do something. It wasn't just because she wanted him to stay. She believed deep down that he was making a mistake, quitting his job, especially now that he had Glee Club, to do something he didn't want to do. She also believed he knew it as much as she did… he just needed a nudge in the right direction.

She picked up the yearbook and scurried off to find Will. She hadn't quite gotten her plan together, but she had to get him to see her before it was too late.

She found him in the teachers' lounge, finishing up his application. She kept herself at ease, making her request for him to come see her until she knew he'd come. Once she had that, she turned and headed back in the hall.

Now she really needed to figure out what she'd do to make him see he had to stay…

A couple of kids running by startled her and she came to a stop, out of breath. As her hand rested over her fast-beating heart, she looked to the side of where she'd stopped… the trophy display case… One in particular – a 1993 Glee Club trophy… 1993… Will would have been in high school at the time… more than that, he'd have been in Glee Club, part of the group that had won that trophy.

This gave her an idea, one she made quick work to entertain. She hurried to the school library, into the archives. She wasn't sure what she'd find, if it would help in any way to resolve the matter.

It didn't take too long for her to find the video. For one thing, there was a fair share of dust around the shelves. She wouldn't stay more than she had to. Finally she'd found the 1993 Glee Club videos. She took it all and got back to her office.

She felt herself trembling with curiosity. She'd always wondered what he was like back then, but she wouldn't dare… it would have been an intrusion on her part. But now… there was a reason, so she wasn't going to stop herself. She put in the first disc… she pressed play with a deep breath.

Seeing the number of kids on the video, she feared not finding… Oh, there he was! Years had passed, but it was still Will. It was Will-plus, the 'plus' being in relation to how simply happy he looked.

That was it, that was what he was throwing away with no second consideration. No.. he just couldn't do that… He was so passionate, so talented, she could see it. She might have felt for staring so admiringly at this teenage boy on her screen if she didn't know him as an adult.

He was so… exuberant. He was in a good place, doing what made his heart and soul truly live, and all of this he shared with those around him, both on the stage and in the audience. Even sitting in her office, watching the video, she felt it.

She watched every one of those videos. Once she'd had one, she had to see all the others. Every one of them further fed two convictions in her. The first was how talented he was, how talented he no doubt still was. Second was that he couldn't sacrifice so much without finding another option. There was that third conviction, deep down, though she tried not to listen to it as much because she knew how selfishly-fueled it was. The third conviction was that if she lost him from her life… no… no, she wasn't entertaining that thought. It was defeatist, and she didn't need that clouding her objective.

The next morning, she'd stopped by to see Will and remind him to meet her later that day. As the time had approached, she'd taken the prize-winning video along in her laptop and gone to sit and wait for Will.

Her fingers tapped along the edge of the laptop, nudged it lightly to make it face her more neatly so. When she heard him clear his throat, she sat up straighter, giving a bright smile. As he sat down at the table, she looked at him, seeing somewhere in him the boy with all the hopes and dreams, the one from the videos. He was still in there somewhere. He was the one she needed to appeal to in this moment, the one who would respond to what she had to say and bridge the gap with the one who was ready to send his dreams down the river.

For a moment, she'd thought she had him, that he was seeing what she was trying to show him… but then she'd lost him. As he walked away, she watched him go, feeling she'd failed… him? Her? Both?

She wouldn't know until later how she had helped in some part. When he'd come to tell her he was staying… she could have jumped into his arms. She contained herself, feeling at ease again, knowing he wasn't leaving.

THE END


End file.
